Flashback:
>>After Spanish and French names for hurricanes — such as Juan and Claudette — were added in 2003, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said hurricane names should be more representative of the cultures they impact, including blacks:
—— Some black lawmakers don’t seem to mind, but Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) does. “All racial groups should be represented,” said Lee.
The World Meteorological Organization began naming tropical storms after women in 1953. That made sense to scientists at the time who thought women and storms were both unpredictable. After feminist groups protested, men’s names were added in 1979.
The National Weather Service says hurricane names are derived from languages spoken in areas that border the Atlantic Ocean, where such storms occur. Yet that doesn’t explain why Gaston, Ernesto and Cindy were chosen and Antwon, Destiny and Latonya were passed over.
Lee said she hoped in the future the weather establishment “would try to be inclusive of African American names.”
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2006/04/has-sheila-jackson-lee-gotten-her-way/